Tax assessor drove by.

In reply to patgizz: Well played.

SVreX wrote:

patgizz wrote: at least they just drove by. the county auditor was walking around the yard one day when my wife got home from work. he found the deck i built on the side of the house that the street can't see.

That's trespassing.

If it was just a private citizen yes. But under the gvnmnt umbrella it's a different story in many places.

Ask the guy that built an armored bulldozer and went crazy on city hall with it. Oh yeah, I think he met his demise because of that.

You're nuts to pay your taxes as escrow, you end up paying in advance in installments and letting someone else use your money. Pay you mortgage and tax separately and pay the tax the last day it's due, in full.

One huge advantage of living here in Beverly Hills, Michigan. We used to be part of Birmingham next door, but voted ourselves a separate village 40 years ago when we were the 'swanky' area. Since then Birmingham has gone boom and is one of the wealthiest communities in the state. We still get all the perks of Birmingham, the best funded schools in the state, the awesome library and I can walk to the downtown area in 20 mins or drive there in 2-3 mins. But we pay 1/3-1/4 of their tax for exactly the same amenities and services but have larger lot sizes.

drainoil wrote:

SVreX wrote:

patgizz wrote: at least they just drove by. the county auditor was walking around the yard one day when my wife got home from work. he found the deck i built on the side of the house that the street can't see.

That's trespassing.

If it was just a private citizen yes. But under the gvnmnt umbrella it's a different story in many places. Ask the guy that built an armored bulldozer and went crazy on city hall with it. Oh yeah, I think he met his demise because of that.

By that logic, they could walk right in the front door because they were "determining value".

On your dirt, and in your house are two different things. But, they often aren't viewed as such.

I have a gate, and in this part of Texas you better be very clear about who you are BEFORE crossing that gate. It's nice.

Appleseed wrote: On your dirt, and in your house are two different things. But, they often aren't viewed as such.

Indeed.

If they don't get consent to come inside, in many cases they write it up based on the neighborhood average said dwelling is in.

Adrian_Thompson wrote: You're nuts to pay your taxes as escrow, you end up paying in advance in installments and letting someone else use your money. Pay you mortgage and tax separately and pay the tax the last day it's due, in full.

If your mortgage lender will allow that, which from what I've seen/heard over the past 25-odd years of paying attention to these things, is rare. First, the lender wants control of the tax money so they know the taxes will get paid and the township won't put a lien on the property. Second, it's an escrow account. Yes, it collects interest (at whatever minuscule amount these days), but it's YOUR interest - the bank doesn't take it. I used to get a yearly statement showing the payments in, taxes paid out, amount of interest the account earned over the year. When I paid off the mortgage a few years ago, the bank applied whatever balance was left in the account to the mortgage, and my pay-off was the remainder.

Typically mortgage companies will require escrows for taxes and insurance unless you have a low loan-to-value and a high credit score.

Ian F wrote:

EvanR wrote: Another reason I will never own a house again. Even when you pay off your mortgage, you are still in danger of having it taken away if you don't pay more money. So you never own it, really, if The Man has the legal ability to take it away.

What? That makes no sense. You are still paying the taxes while you have a mortgage, you just don't notice it as much since it's rolled into the payment. Even if you rent, you are still indirectly paying property taxes through the rent payment.

It's not the property taxes that I mind. I realize that when I rent, part of my monthly payment covers taxes.

But when I rent, it comes with the understanding that I own nothing. When you "own" a house, you are tricked by the illusion of owning something. But you really don't own anything if the government can take it away from you.

"Some folks are born silver spoon in hand
Lord, don't they help themselves, oh
But when the taxman comes to the door
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yeah!"

--Fortunate Son by John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1969

EvanR wrote: It's not the property taxes that I mind. I realize that when I rent, part of my monthly payment covers taxes. But when I rent, it comes with the understanding that I own nothing. When you "own" a house, you are tricked by the *illusion* of owning something. But you really don't own anything if the government can take it away from you.

By that logic, you still don't "own" anything. Try not paying your Federal taxes and see what happens. They can (and will) auction off everything you have to pay back taxes. Just ask Willie Nelson - they even tried to take and auction off his main guitar, but he was able to keep it because it's technically a "tool for working" or something.

In reply to EvanR:

You are confusing ownership with authority and responsibility for indebtedness.

You own it. Your name is on the title. Just like a car.

But if you incur a debt that you can not pay, creditors have the right to claim the things you owe in payment for their debt.

Government is simply the highest priority creditor. If you owe more than one person (and everyone does), they get paid first.

You are correct that if you rent and don't pay your debts they won't take your house (because you don't own it). They will take something you do own instead (like your furniture).

If you rent and your landlord fails to pay his debts, you are still homeless.

Basil Exposition wrote: Typically mortgage companies will require escrows for taxes and insurance unless you have a low loan-to-value and a high credit score.

Wow, I got my first mortgage in this country back in 1997. Never had an escrow account. Always paid my own taxes.

SVreX wrote: In reply to EvanR: You are correct that if you rent and don't pay your debts they won't take your house (because you don't own it). They will take something you do own instead (like your furniture).

This is why I strive to own as little as possible. I used to do that because I couldn't afford to buy things. Now I can, but it turns out that for me, owning things is a responsibility I get no pleasure from.

In reply to EvanR:

You are not what you own.

Just be glad you don't own agricultural land......the tax bills for that are astronomical. Mercifully, the actual 3 residences have been in our family for over a century, so they qualify for the Hoosier Homestead provision.

We did just have the county tax douche running around all the farms "auditing" personal property......which is bullE36 M3. We voted that POS out of office first chance we got.

In reply to WOW Really Paul?:

It's funny when a politician runs on a platform of being fiscally responsible and how he'll balance the budget. And then the local populace gets PO'd when he actually does it, often using the only recourse available - which is often only more strictly enforcing existing codes/laws.

Oddly enough, in some areas of NJ if you can get your property listed as "farm land" then your taxes can be substantially reduced. My ex looked into it, but her property isn't large enough. I drive through an area with a few small Christmas tree farms. A couple of houses actually put out stands each year, although only one of them seems to take it seriously. Another house only planted a couple of years ago, although the actual trees (visible from the road) have hardly grown at all. The deer love them.